WHAT THE EARTH REMEMBERS

Robert Moody, conductor; Brian Bartoldus, conductor; Handel Choir of Baltimore, chorus

J. RUTTER – Lord Make Me An Instrument

S. OKPEBHOLO – What The Earth Remembers *World Premiere*

R.V. Williams – Dona Nobis Pacem

BCO combines forces with the CCSB Choir and Handel Choir of Baltimore for a special concert that invites audiences to consider our relationship to one another and with the planet we call home. Grammy Award winning singers Karen Slack, soprano and Dashon Burton, baritone are featured soloists on both halves of the concert starting with the World Premiere of What the Earth Remembers, written by Grammy-nominated composer Shawn Okpebholo with text from Marcus Amaker. Handel Choir Artistic Director Brian Bartoldus leads the first performance of this work commissioned by the Handel Choir, which explores the realities of climate change and our collective responsibility to future generations. In the second half, BCO’s Music Director Robert Moody takes the podium to lead the combined forces of both ensembles in John Rutter’s Lord Make Me An Instrument followed by in Ralph Vaughan Williams’ powerful Dona Nobis Pacem, a rarely performed masterpiece that addresses the human cost of conflict and humanity’s struggle to create a more peaceful world.